The Practice of Reading: Interpreting the Novel [Paperback]

The Practice of Readingis a lucid and lively examination of the art of interpreting the novel in the context of recent developments in literary theory and criticism. Believing that reading is - or should be - a pleasurable, creative activity, the authors analyse a range of seven novels from the eighteenth century to the present, focusing upon the experiential dimensions of the reading process. What is the role of the reader? What happens when a novel is read? How far does meaning depend on the reader, and how far on the text? These and other related questions are explored in readings of novels as diverse asTristram Shandy,Pride and Prejudice,Great Expectations,Daniel Deronda,A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Beckett'sTrilogyandPossession.
In its insistence upon a return to the practice of close reading, the book represents a timely intervention in current literary debates. An accessible, informative and above all stimulating text for all university and college students of literature.

DEREK ALSOP is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at St Mary's University College, Strawberry Hill.

CHRIS WALSH is Head of English at University College Chester.
DEREK ALSOP is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at St Mary's University College, Strawberry Hill.

CHRIS WALSH is Head of English at University College Chester.

Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Editions Used
Reading and Interpretation
The Role of the Reader: Tristram Shandy
The Process of Reading: Pride and Prejudice
The Experience of Reading: Great Expectations
Deconstruction and Reading: Daniel Deronda
Reading as Revelation: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Reading the Self: Beckett's Trilogy Molloy; Malone Dies; The Unnamable
Postmodernist Readings: Possession
Conclusion
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index.